Keeper's first Rally Trial

One of the local dog training clubs had an obedience and rally trial. Two shows on Saturday, one show on Sunday. We did not place, but we qualified 2 out of 3 shows with a 79 and an 84 out of a possible 100. We missed the first leg because along with a number of other deductions, I miscounted the 1-2-3 steps back, which dropped our score below qualifying.

We need to get out around more canine distractions, and I need to work on having men follow us. I think she was handling the show scene better the second day (and her scores improved), but it's currently very stressful for her. She did play with me a little out by the cars, but ringside (and in the ring) was where her biggest troubles were.

Keeper with her two green qualifying ribbons. Not counting gas and time, ~$40 each in entry fees.

Also, because she tried to hold her pee a ridiculously long time, I think she might be starting a bladder infection. I've started her on Cranberry Comfort, and to get her to push fluids, I'm dropping a few Cheez-its into a bowl of water so she'll drink the water to get the crackers.

Some of that stress carried over to work today. Nothing too bad, just a little extra drool as we got in and got settled. I think cortisol takes days to clear the bloodstream, so she'll likely be a bit more prone to being stressed throughout the week. It was a quiet night at the library, so this is the face she wore most of the evening:

I'm adorable. That means I get cookies, right?

You'll notice she's tucked under the desk. The checkout computer is directly over her head. Having her "hidden" like this greatly cuts down on the number of questions I have to answer. Sometimes, though, I go out to shelve or help patrons find books. I get a lot of questions then. Some people know that there are guide dogs, but don't know about service dogs for other disabilities.

Since I'm an evenings and weekends person at the library, I don't know when we'll next be able to go to a rally trial. It may be a long while before we finish the Rally Novice title. Since she's returned to her "day job", I'm okay with not getting the title this weekend.

New Job, and annual exam.

It's been an interesting first week at the library. Keeper is still trying to hold it and not pee or poop there, I'm still trying to convince her to go. It means staying late most nights, but that does seem to be our biggest issue with the work.

Shelving is interesting. I don't know where I'm going quite yet, and she likes to look between the books to watch other people. She's a bit worried by the big cart (I think I pinched her toe), but is fine with the little carts.

We've sat at all the desks for circulation, and the center one is the one that best hides her from the public. She does okay with people (especially little kids) talking to her, and is starting to ignoring them more often than not. She's adjusting much faster than I anticipated, given how much I'm still learning.

In less wonderful news, Duncan's got a partial tear of his right CCL. He's not super lame, but he's not sound, either. After his very poor reaction to the medications post surgery for his 2013 CCL tear, I'm electing to try conservative management. Several weeks of leash walks, and then slowly trying to build up his muscles to support the joint the way the ligament should. If that fails, we'll go on to a brace, if we need to. I'm hopeful. He's not 3 legged lame, he's just short-striding on the right. I don't know if the vet would have noticed if I hadn't asked for a drawer test. That means it's a more chronic issue, less of an acute onset. It's not ideal, and it breaks my heart that I can't fix him and make him 100% again. He's also got an infected anal sac and is on a two week course of antibiotics.

I try to take solace in the fact that he's a happy brat, still begging for food and love, or letting himself into my room to get to the super cushy beds (and away from the Setters). He's still got himself on debris patrol, and turns in things he finds for treats. I would guess he'd gladly go back to work, if I let him, but he's starting to (appear to) enjoy retirement. It might have something to do with Mom giving him honey straws after Keeper and I head out.

The good news from the annual exam is that he's still got a protective level of antibodies on his titers, so we don't have to put him through the stress of a vaccine (poor boy has almost as many health quirks as I have.) His fecal and 4 way check for heartworm and tick born diseases came back clear.

Keeper's also clear on fecal and is still showing as positive on anaplasmosis but clear on everything else. She's still happy, healthy, and sound, so I'm continuing to hold to the belief that it's a false positive. I may send blood off for a pathologist to look at in another year, if she's still showing positive on the snap test. I don't want to treat a disease that's not there, but I don't want to assume it's a false positive forever.

I spend more being conservative and double checking the anaplasmosis diagnosis and not vaccinating every year (it's $141 for titers) but I'm giving their best health my best guess.

Weekend update

Friday we went to Panera for a write-in. I was stressed out, not sure why. Keeper fed off of it and was a bit spookier than normal, but she did okay work in the restaurant, and did a quick paws-up on the big turtle statue. I've got to work on my own stress responses. The actual write-in went well.

Keeper's nose under the table at Panera.

I've been trying to play with Keeper at least once a day the past couple days, and I'm seeing a shift in her already. She's pestering me more, and just seems super pleased with it. I have to remember she's not Duncan, and adapt to who she is.

We're signed up for a dog show March 21st and 22nd. We'll be trying how we both do in the ring with AKC Novice level Rally Obedience- nothing she can't do. Mostly heeling, turns, and sits, all on leash. I'm more scared of that than of starting the new job on Wednesday!

2nd Flower presentation

March 2nd, we did 4 outings, including the presentation on flower drying/pressing and a mild attempt at access denial cleared up by a manager.

We got out the door in good time, and we picked up Donna. We stayed for the meeting and the lunch (salad). With questions, the presentation ran just about an hour, right on the mark they wanted. Whoo! I don't remember if I've said it here, but I used to be phobic about public speaking, and am glad that I can do it now. Maybe this means I can give talks on service dogs in the future.

Lots of compliments on the presentation, and a lot of compliments on Keeper's behavior. Lots of questions- boy? breed? how old? I'm tempted to get those silly little groomer's ear bows, just to see how many people still ask if she's a boy. I really need to put together a flyer for Keeper and hand it out if I do this sort of thing again.

Keeper got to cram herself into a normal/small sized bathroom stall. The handicapped was out of toilet paper. She was super confused about that. It worked, but she's so easy to knock into mildly worried about why things are different. It's good to know we can fit, it just takes work.

On the way home, we stopped at Micro Center, and I got a 2TB external hard drive (I'd filled up my 500GB). Mom bought it as my birthday gift. Keeper did well with a store she'd never been to before.

I took a nap/had a three hour crash, then went to writers' group. I haven't written or edited anything, but there's some stories I want to follow.

After, Keeper and I went to Applebee's, and met up with friends. I was a little late, so I was the only one going through the doors/in the lobby area. The guy opening the door told me I couldn't have a "pet" in there. I told him, politely but firmly, that Keeper is a mobility service dog, and that we were allowed by federal law. He used his little ear piece/mike and called back that some lady was trying to bring a "pet" inside. I told him to use the proper term, that she was a service dog once more. Keeper's pack is not exactly subtle (hot pink, huge patches.)

The manager comes hustling up, obviously looking to punt the pet out the door. Looks down, sees the pack, me holding on to the harness handle, and deflates to congenial host. "That's a service dog. You treat them like a human." I was so happy to hear that. The manager made a couple other comments about things like the GIANT freaking patches on her "jacket", and the way Keeper behaved- tucking under a table, not looking for food.

For once, I was glad to be used as a learning opportunity. I'm also really glad that manager knew what was going on so I wasn't trying to educate 2 people. I'm grateful that access challenge was so mild. I'm not sure how coherent I would have been at explaining things after the day I'd had.

Getting out and doing things

In some ways, it's weird to realize how little I do when I don't have a service dog. I'm not sure I'd notice the full impact if I wasn't trying to document where Keeper and I go. It's been a busy week.

Went to writers' group again on the 23rd, and my shrink on the 24th.

February 25th we went to the downtown library branch to fill out the pre-hire paperwork for the library job. Got to talk with the security guard on the ride up the elevator about breeds and training, and while I was sitting at a small table filling out paperwork, I heard someone say their dog is not nearly so well behaved at home.

The 26th, we went to the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum for two hours. There were a couple sculptures that she wasn't sure what to make of them- a man's head on a narrow pedestal, a horse sculpture the size of a medium dog, and some of the foo dogs that were flanking a door. They looked real, but didn't move or smell right. She did really, really well, and is a much more patient dog with the wandering that's typical in a museum. Duncan always wanted to be moving, she's willing to wait around.

Then we went out to Chili's for dinner, and she dealt wonderfully with the clapping and singing at our table and the table across the aisle.

The 27th, we went to a sushi restaurant for lunch. Keeper's new patches meant the happy, bouncy little girls kept away while we waited, and Keeper had a lot of foot traffic to watch as we ate (we forgot it was Lent, we've never been there when it's that busy before.)